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tense, case-endings, gender, number and so forth, convey the same meanings. For instance, the words kumbha, kalasa and ghața denote the same object (ekārthavācakāḥ), viz., a jar which is one of the forms taken by clay. Similarly the words Indra, Sakra and Purandara denote one and the same individual in the same manner as the words globe, orb and sphere denote, despite their several differences, the same circular entity.
A misapplication of this standpoint by treating, for instance, two synonymous words as being utterly identical in their meanings is said to lead to the fallacy called sabdanayābhāsa. The sabdadvaitavadins and a few other schools in Indian philosophy are said to have committed' this fallacy.
Samabhiruḍhanaya (the etymological standpoint)
The etymological standpoint represents an advance upon the standpoint of synonyms although it is narrower in its scope than the latter. Its advance consists in the fact that it distinguishes the meanings of synonymous words purely on their etymological grounds. The synonyms Indra, Sakra and
1. yo vartanam ca manyate ekārthe bhinnalingādināṁ/ sa sabdanayo bhanitaḥ..// Laghunayacakram, kā. 40. Also: sabdapṛṣṭhato'rthagrahaṇapravaṇaḥ śabdanayaḥ lingasankhyākālakārakapuruşopagrahavyabhicaranivṛttiparatvāt/ Dhavalaṭikā (quoted in GAM, tippaṇāni, p. 147).
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2. See Nyāyāvatāra (P. L. Vaidya's edn.), pp. 82 and 90; and NVUS, tippaṇāni, p. 277.
3. paryayasabdabhedena bhinnarthasyadhirohanat/
nayaḥ sama
bhiruḍhaḥ syat....// TSV, p. 273, kā. 76. paryāyaśabdeṣu niruktibhedena bhinnamartham samabhirohan samabhirudha iti/ PNTA, VII. 36, and NKC, Vol. II, p. 638, f. n. 1, the extracts from Dhavalaṭika and Jayadhavala.
